Congo, Republic of the (2001) | French Guiana (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha | none (overseas department of France) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
42.43% (male 618,411; female 609,633) 15-64 years: 54.23% (male 765,501; female 804,125) 65 years and over: 3.34% (male 38,772; female 57,894) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.9% (male 28,565; female 27,280)
15-64 years: 64.4% (male 64,836; female 55,498) 65 years and over: 5.7% (male 5,455; female 5,283) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 33 (2000 est.) | 11 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
Area | total:
342,000 sq km land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km |
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Montana | slightly smaller than Indiana |
Background | Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government installed in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President SASSOU-NGUESSO. | First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. |
Birth rate | 38.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 21.33 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$870 million expenditures: $970 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
Capital | Brazzaville | Cayenne |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 169 km | 378 km |
Constitution | Draft constitution approved by transitional parliament in September 2000 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of the Congo conventional short form: none local long form: Republique du Congo local short form: none former: Middle Congo, Congo/Brazzaville, Congo |
conventional long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) |
Death rate | 16.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.8 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $5 billion (1999 est.) | $1.2 billion (1988) |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador David H. KAEUPER embassy: NA mailing address: NA telephone: [243] (88) 43608 FAX: [243] (88) 41036 note: the embassy is temporarily collocated with the US Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (US Embassy Kinshasa, 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa) |
none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
(vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Serge MOMBOULI chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | most of the Congo river boundary with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Stanley Pool/Pool Malebo area) | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) |
Economic aid - recipient | $159.1 million (1995) | $NA |
Economy - overview | The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on oil, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. Moreover, the government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings, contributing to the government's shortage of revenues. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of Franc Zone currencies by 50% resulted in inflation of 61% in 1994, but inflation has subsided since. Economic reform efforts continued with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. The reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, who returned to power when the war ended in October 1997, publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. However, economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the Republic of the Congo's budget deficit. Even with the IMF's renewed confidence and high world oil prices, Congo is unlikely to realize growth of more than 5% in 2001-02. With the return to fragile peace, the IMF approved a $14 million credit in November 2000 to aid post-conflict reconstruction. | The economy is tied closely to the larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. |
Electricity - consumption | 406.9 million kWh (1999) | 423.2 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 126 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 302 million kWh (1999) | 455 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
0.66% hydro: 99.34% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
- |
Ethnic groups | Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans NA%; note - Europeans estimated at 8,500, mostly French, before the 1997 civil war; may be half that of 1998, following the widespread destruction of foreign businesses in 1997 | black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro | Euros per US dollar - 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 August 1992 (next was to be held 27 July 1997 but will be delayed for several years pending the drafting of a new constitution) election results: Pascal LISSOUBA elected president in 1992; percent of vote - Pascal LISSOUBA 61.3%, Bernard KOLELAS 38.7%; note - LISSOUBA was deposed in 1997, replaced by Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
Exports | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum 50%, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing |
Exports - partners | US 23%, Benelux 14%, Germany, Italy, Taiwan, China (1998) | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2.26 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10% industry: 48% services: 42% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14,400 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.8% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 S, 15 00 E | 4 00 N, 53 00 W |
Geography - note | about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent |
Highways | total:
12,800 km paved: 1,242 km unpaved: 11,558 km (1996) |
total: 722 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe |
Imports | $870 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals |
Imports - partners | France 23%, US 9%, Belgium 8%, UK 7%, Italy (1997 est.) | France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002) |
Independence | 15 August 1960 (from France) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | petroleum extraction, cement kilning, lumbering, brewing, sugar milling, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarette making | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | 99.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 12.84 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.5% (2000 est.) | 1.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | FZ, WCL, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1993 est.) | 20 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) |
Labor force | NA | 58,800 (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | services, government, and commerce 60.6%, industry 21.2%, agriculture 18.2% (1980) |
Land boundaries | total:
5,504 km border countries: Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African Republic 467 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Gabon 1,903 km |
total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 29% forests and woodland: 62% other: 9% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.11% NEGL
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 99.86% (90% forest, 10% other) (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users) | French |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law | French legal system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Transitional Council (75 seats, members elected by reconciliation forum of 1,420 delegates on NA January 1998); note - the National Transitional Council replaced the bicameral Parliament
elections: National Transitional Council - last held NA January 1998 (next to be held NA 2001); note - at that election the National Transitional Council is to be replaced by a bicameral assembly election results: National Transitional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
47.57 years male: 44.38 years female: 50.85 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.69 years
male: 73.36 years female: 80.18 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 74.9% male: 83.1% female: 67.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Navy, Gendarmerie | no regular indigenous military forces; French Forces, Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $110 million (FY93) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.8% (FY93) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
684,922 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 51,444 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
347,946 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 33,345 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
32,350 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 August (1960) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo |
noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
Natural hazards | seasonal flooding | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding |
Natural resources | petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), cinnabar, kaolin, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 25 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | the most important of the many parties are the Democratic and Patriotic Forces or FDP (an alliance of Convention for Alternative Democracy, Congolese Labor Party or PCT, Liberal Republican Party, National Union for Democracy and Progress, Patriotic Union for the National Reconstruction, and Union for the National Renewal) [Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, president]; Association for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA, president]; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA]; Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin MBERI]; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO] | Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Roland HO-WEN-SZE]; Socialist Party or PS [Pierre RIBARDIERE]; Walwari Committee [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC; General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students or UGEEC; Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women or URFC; Union of Congolese Socialist Youth or UJSC | NA |
Population | 2,894,336
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
186,917 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.2% (2001 est.) | 2.4% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire | Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
Radios | 341,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
894 km narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2000) |
0 km |
Religions | Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% | Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.17 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out-of-order domestic: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,000 (1997) | 47,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,000 (1996) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1999) | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains |
Total fertility rate | 5 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.09 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 22% (2001) |
Waterways | 1,120 km
note: the Congo and Ubangi (Oubangui) rivers provide 1,120 km of commercially navigable water transport; other rivers are used for local traffic only |
3,300 km navigable by native craft
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers |